Ice Diving Adventure

[mermaidlisa]

Greetings!

At long last there's finally a faint chill in the air. With winter just around the corner I've found myself daydreaming about one of my favorite winter diving activities - ice diving! I thought I'd take a minute to try and describe some of the fun & adventure of ice diving.

I can honestly say I love the site preparation work as much as the actual ice diving. The following lists some of the work involved in the site preparation: opening the ice-hole by first drilling holes into the ice at the three points of the future ice opening triangle with an auger; using a long bladed hand saw to "connect the ice hole corner 'dots'" so to speak; and shoveling a rather intricate concentric circle pattern in the snow around the ice-hole opening. The prep work usually takes between 2-1/2 to4 hours (depending on the thickness of the ice).

Making your first descent beneath the ice is a treat! I love experiencing the liquid realm I treasure so much in this very unique manner. One of my favorite things to do is hover a few feet beneath the ice ceiling and watch my exhalation bubbles expand into silvery swollen jellyfish shapes before abruptly shattering against the ice ceiling. The image that's created when the swollen air bubble strikes the ice always reminds me of watching someone throw a bucket of diamonds out on to a large piece of glass. The individual diamond-like "drops" of air scurry wildly about against the ice surface enjoying their independence for a few moments before sliding together to form psychedelic blob-like shapes that eerily slither out of site. When you're on the surface tending you will occasionally hear "blurp, blurp, blurp" noises as the large blobs of trapped air make their way to the ice-hole opening to escape. Probably the closest any of us will ever come to hearing a lake burp

Photos from one of the 2001 outings,http://www.omnidivers.com/icephotospay01.html (note all of the photos enlarge if you double click them)

Additional Ice Diving information can be obtained from the following site,
http://www.omnidivers.com/ice.html

Enjoy the Day!
Lisa

 

[Green_Manelishi]

if the bar is long enough you can use a chain saw to cut
the hole in the ice.

 

[Natasha]

Lisa,
First off, welcome to the scuba board. The site and PICS are fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing. I'd love to hear more stories.
PS. are you the yellow coat in the PICS?
:sunny:

 

[Omni Dive]

Yes if the bar is long enough on the chain saw you can use it. We do not always have access to a chain saw so we use hand saws, auger and pry bars.

The chain saw tends to leave an oily slime on the water in the area where you are constantly getting in and out.

 

[scubakat]

Welcome Lisa!

Don't let those CAD's deter you from another seson of hard-water-diving!

hope to see you soon!

-kate

 

[lakesdiver]

I agree. Ice diving is a gas. After my first dive, I could understand why some folks make a career studying ice. Tried my first night ice dive last year. I'd recommend you try that, too. An amazing sensation.

 

[Tavi]

Thanks for the pics Lisa, Looks like fun!
Welcome to the boards from Rochester NY.

 

[Iguana Don]

You are some really sick individuals and need some serious help.

Just a question tho. How do you handle the shock to your face when it hits that cold of water. I would suck a tank dry right there on the surface. And do your lips get numb?

Frozen Iquana Don

 

[lakesdiver]

Well, the fact is with a drysuit, dry gloves, good hood (some use dry hoods), and mask (some use full face) there just ain't a lot of exposed skin to chill. And if the rest of your body's warm, it's not a big deal...really.

 

[JoelW]

If the weather doesn't turn for the better in the near future, ice diving here in Minnesota is going to be a pretty short season. I was out over the weekend and the air temp was 42F. The water temp was 37F though. According to the weather forecast it sounds like I will be able to crawl into open water over the holidays.

JoelW